B.C. gardeners cry ‘uncle’ as European fire ants return in force

Zoe McKnight, Vancouver Sun07.09.2013

European fire ants can sting, causing painful welts and swelling, even requiring medical attention or veterinary care. Gardeners must tape rubber boots to their pant legs and kids must be kept off the lawn. Even horses and birds can be impacted. The number of reported cases has doubled in B.C. in the last year.

European fire ants can sting, causing painful welts and swelling, even requiring medical attention or veterinary care. Gardeners must tape rubber boots to their pant legs and kids must be kept off the lawn. Even horses and birds can be impacted. The number of reported cases has doubled in B.C. in the last year.

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METRO VANCOUVER -- The European fire ants that were the bane of gardeners across Metro Vancouver last summer have returned with a vengeance, and another type of imported ant has made its Canadian debut.

The Argentine ant first appeared in B.C. last fall, and has the dubious distinction of being one of the 100 worst invasive species on the planet, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It developed as a pest in California and has travelled as far north as Oregon and Washington, and in November a pest control worker in Victoria noticed a column of ants moving across a road in a band as thick as a man’s arm. The Argentine ant is known to form “supercolonies” where a million of the insects can live in 10 square metres of soil.

Ant expert Robert Higgins, an entomologist at Thompson Rivers University, confirmed the species this year and says the ants are being transported on gardening material, plants and soil.

Although the Argentine ants do not sting or bite, they can overwhelm gardens and have destroyed crops in California. One Victoria woman found her car, which was parked under a tree with honeydew-producing aphids, blanketed in the ants. They can take over picnics, patios and kitchens in their quest for sugar and food.

“It’s a tiny ant but their numbers are huge,” Higgins said.

European fire ants, on the other hand, do sting, causing painful welts and swelling, even requiring medical attention or veterinary care. Gardeners must tape rubber boots to their pant legs and kids must be kept off the lawn. Even horses and birds can be impacted.

Multiple queens in every nest means it can be difficult if not impossible to eradicate the ants completely and they easily travel from yard to yard, sometimes spreading over multiple city blocks.

Provincial biologists first became aware of fire ants in 2010, but a new report prepared by Higgins for the B.C. Inter-Ministry Invasive Species Working Group says the pests may have been in the province for 15 years.

The number of reported cases has “more than doubled,” since last year to include parks, backyards and gardens in Vancouver including the University of B.C. endowment lands, an equestrian park and a botanical garden, North Vancouver, Victoria, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Richmond, Maple Ridge and Courtenay, Higgins said.

The fire ants love temperate weather, and there’s potential for them to spread all along coastal B.C.

“I don’t think we — by any means — have found all of the colonies,” Higgins said. “There are little pockets scattered all over the place.”

One of those places is McDonald Beach Park in Richmond, which also has a popular dog park. Higgins said dogs were showing up at the vet and misdiagnosed with infections that were actually welts from fire ant stings.

That area is now marked, said Higgins, who is pushing municipalities to require warning signs in identified locations.

“The public needs to know where they are located,” he said.

The fire ant is likely arriving “through landscaping plants and the movement of contaminated soil. This argues for increased education to all affected stakeholders, including the landscaping industry,” the report states.

“Community gardeners may merit particular interest given the ideal habitat that well irrigated raised garden beds present to the (fire ant). The frequency with which gardeners share and move plants with soil make community gardens a high risk secondary source for further distributing this ant.”

With early detection, the nests can sometimes be destroyed, preventing a widespread problem. But the ants become more aggressive as the colonies grow larger and may go unnoticed at first. Commercial pesticides do not work and a common treatment, boric acid, is not 100 per cent effective and high concentrations can be dangerous for small animals and soil health.

The Invasive Species Council of B.C. said garden materials are “the suspected route” for the fire ants. (The B.C. Landscape and Nursery Association is not convinced.)

And because the ants can affect property values, the council applied for and received funding from the Real Estate Foundation of B.C. to create a fire ant advisory council to look at how municipalities can deal with legalities and liability, said executive director Gail Wallin.

Meanwhile, the Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver is dealing with a major backlog as crews try to address a “weed emergency” created by the toxic and dangerous giant hogweed plant, the sap of which can cause third-degree burns and even blindness, said project manager Jennifer Grenz. She once suffered minor burns just from standing in front of the tall bush with white flowers on a windy day.

Similar to the fire ant, media attention has produced an overwhelming number of reports across the Lower Mainland. Last summer about 50 areas were treated. The council expects to treat 150 more sites this year, many along walking trails and in public parks.

In east Vancouver’s Charles Park, a large area is cordoned off until it can be treated next week. The perennial was mowed under, lacing the lawn with seeds and sap, presenting a major risk to public health.

“It’s not just an ecological concern. It’s a safety concern,” she said.

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B.C. gardeners cry ‘uncle’ as European fire ants return in force

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